35
LAW & JUSTICE
Bad News and Good
News as ZOA’s Fight
against Campus Anti-
Semitism Continues
The ZOA has long advocated for Jewish
students at New York University (NYU)
and urged the administration to address its
anti-Semitism problem. But unfortunately,
the problem persists.
In April 2018, NYU’s anti-Semitic, Israel
bashing group Students for Justice in
Palestine (SJP) and its allies assembled more
than 50 other student groups to join them in
an anti-Semitic, anti-Israel boycott campaign.
It included a pledge to boycott the ZOA and
certain other outside groups, and a pledge to
boycott NYU’s pro-Israel student clubs. SJP’s
goal couldn’t be clearer: to shun and silence
Jewish and pro-Israel students.
Identifying the numerous violations of university
policies by SJP, the ZOA urged NYU
President Andrew Hamilton to condemn and
halt the hate group’s campaign. But Hamilton
did not even respond.
Also in April 2018, SJP tried to shut down
a celebration of Israel’s 70th birthday. SJP
members wiped their feet and stomped on
an Israeli flag, and one member set an Israeli
flag on fire. Another was filmed grabbing
the arms of a student singing Hatikvah, and
forcibly seizing the microphone from the
student before shouting, “Free Palestine, end
the occupation.” While student wrongdoers
were reportedly arrested, there is no evidence
that they or SJP were punished.
SJP is open about its goal to intimidate and
silence Jewish and pro-Israel students. At the
Israel celebration, SJP’s president said, “We’re
not going to let them stand by and support
Zionism. Our point is to make being Zionist
uncomfortable on the NYU campus.”
Given SJP’s hateful and divisive record,
it was shocking and outrageous that in the
spring of 2019, SJP received a President’s
Service Award, which supposedly goes to
student groups “that have had an extraordinary
and positive impact on the University
community.” SJP has had exactly the opposite
impact, making Jewish and pro-Israel students
feel unsafe and unwelcome.
NYU ignored ZOA’s calls to rescind the
decision to reward SJP. After the award
ceremony, President Hamilton claimed that
neither he nor his office was consulted about
the award recipients. It’s hard to believe that
the President of NYU did not have a say in
selecting the student group deemed worthy of
receiving the President’s Service Award.
After the awards ceremony, Jewish students
filed a complaint against the university with
the U.S. Department of Education’s Office
for Civil Rights. Citing the ZOA’s letters
and asserting a violation of Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act, the complaint alleges that
university officials have failed to remedy
“two years of extreme anti-Semitism” perpetrated
by SJP. Yet Hamilton has denied that
anti-Semitism is a problem on his campus.
NYU should learn about fighting anti-Semitism
and Israel-bashing from the leadership
at California’s Pitzer College. In June 2017,
Pitzer’s Board of Trustees adopted the ZOA’s
legal argument and rescinded a Student
Senate amendment that, if implemented,
would have rendered Pitzer College the first
campus in North America to carry out a
boycott against Israel.
In March 2019, Pitzer President Melvin
Oliver appropriately vetoed a recommendation
by the College Council (comprised of
faculty, students and staff ) to suspend Pitzer’s
study-abroad program with Israel’s University
of Haifa. In a message to the community,
President
Hamilton (above)
claimed that
neither he nor
his office was
consulted about the
award recipients.
It’s hard to
believe that the
President of NYU
did not have a
say in selecting
the student group
deemed worthy
of receiving the
President’s Service
Award.